ruin 
St. To be overwhelmed by loss, failure, suffer- 
ing, or the like ; be brought to misery or pov- 
erty. 
They then perceive that dilatory stay 
To be the causer of their ruining. 
Draylon, Barons' Wars, i. 64. 
Unless these things, which I have above proposed, one 
way or another, be once settl'd, in my fear, which God 
avert, we may instantly ruin. 
Milton, Ruptures of the Commonwealth. 
4. To inflict ruin ; do irreparable harm. 
He was never. 
But where he meant to ruin, pitiful. 
Shalt., Hen. VIII., iv. 2. 40. 
ruinable (r6'in-a-bl), a. [< ruin + -able.] 
Capable of being' ruined. 
Above these ruitiable skies 
They make their last retreat. 
II (/., The Atheist's Mistake. 
ruin-agate (ro'in-ag'at), n. A variety of agate 
of various shades of brown, the color so ar- 
ranged as to give to a polished slab a fancied 
resemblance to a ruined building. 
ruinate (ro'i-nat), e. ; pret. and pp. ruinated, 
ppr. ruinating. [< ML. ruinntus, pp. of ruinare, 
ruin, fall in ruin: see ruin, '.] I. trans. If. 
To hurl violently down ; thrust or drive head- 
long. 
On thother side they saw that perilous Rocke, 
Threatning it selfe on them to ruinate. 
Spenser, V. Q., II. xii. 7. 
2. To bring to ruin; overthrow; undo. [Ar- 
chaic or prov. Eng.] 
I will not ruinate my father's house, 
Who gave his blood to lime the stones together. 
Shale., 8 Hen. VI., v. 1. 88. 
I saw two Churches grievously demolished, . . . and 
two Monasteries eitremely ruinated. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 9. 
II. intr<inx. To fall; be overthrown; go to 
ruin. [Bare.] 
We see others ruinating for want of our incomparable 
system of constitutional government. 
5. //. Cox, Interviews Memorable and Useful, p. 11;V 
ruinatet (ro'i-nat), a. [= Sp. Pg. ruinado = It. 
roviiiatp, ruinato, ruined, < ML. ruiaatus, pp. of 
ruinare, fall in ruin, ruin : see ruin, '.] Brought 
to ruin ; ruined ; in ruins. 
Shall love, in building, grow so ruinate? 
Shale., C. of E., ill. 2. 4. 
My brother Edward lives in pomp and state ; 
I in a mansion here all ruinate. 
Dekker and Webster, Sir Thomas Wyatt, p. 11. 
ruination (ro-i-na'shon), . [< ML. *ruin<i- 
tio(n-), < ruinarr, ruin: see ruinate.] The act 
of ruinating, or the state of being ruinated; 
ruin. 
Roman coynes . . . were . . . ouercouered in the ground, 
in the sodaine ruination of tonnes by the Saxons. 
Cainden, Remains, Money. 
It was left for posterity, after thi ee more centuries of 
Irish misery, to meet public necessity by private ruination. 
R. W. Dixon, Hist. Church of Eng., xix. 
miner (ro'i-ner), n. [< OF. rmiieur, < It, ron- 
natore. < ML. *ruinator,(. ruinare, ruiir: see ruin.] 
One who ruins or destroys. 
They [bishops] have been the most certain deformers and 
miners of the church. Milton, On Def. of Humb. Kemonst. 
ruing (ro'ing), n. [< ME. ruynge ; verbal n. of 
rel, r.] Repentance; regret. 
ruiniform (ro'i-ni-form), a. [= F. rmniformt. 
< L. rttina, ruin, + forma, form.] Having the 
appearance of ruins: noting various minerals. 
rum-marble (vo'm-mar"bl), . Marble show- 
ing markings resembling vaguely the forms of 
ruined or dilapidated buildings. 
ruinous (rO'i-nus), a. [< MB. ruinous, ruy- 
nous, < OF. ruineux, ruyneux, F. ruineux = Pr. 
ruynos = 8p. Pg. ruinoso = It. rovinoso, ruinoso, 
< L. minostis, ruinous, < rutna, overthrow, ruin : 
see ruin.] 1. Fallen to ruin ; decayed; dilapi- 
dated. 
Somwhat bynethe that village we come to an olde, for- 
leten, rut/nous churche, somtyme of seynt Marke. 
Sir R. Guylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 33. 
Leave not the mansion so long tenantless, 
Lest, growing ruinous, the building fall. 
Shat.,1. G. of V., v. 4. 9. 
2. Composed of ruins; consisting in ruins. 
Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and 
it shall be a ruinous heap. Isa. xvii. 1. 
3. Destructive; baneful; pernicious; bringing 
or tending to bring ruin. 
Machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous 
disorders follow us disquietly to our graves. 
Ska*., Lear, i. 2. 123. 
The favourite pressed for patents, lucrative to his re- 
lations and to his creatures, ruinmut and vexatious to the 
body of the people. Macmday, Lord Bacon. 
5264 
ruinously (ro'i-nus-li). adv. In a ruinous man- 
ner; destructively. 
ruinousness (ro'i-nus-nes), n. The state or 
character of being ruinous ; mischievousness ; 
banefulness. 
ruitt, . A Middle English form of rut-. 
rukh, n. Same as rocl. 
rulable (ro'la-bl), a. [< rule\ v., + -able.] 1. 
Capable of being ruled ; governable. 
For the removing the impression of your nature to be 
opiniastre and not rulable, first and above all things I 
wish that all matters past, which cannot be revoked, your 
lordship would turn altogether upon insatisfaction, and 
not upon your nature or proper disposition. 
Bacon, To Lord Essex, Oct., 1596. 
2. Permissible according to rule ; allowable. 
[Colloq.] 
In all sales of Butter above "low grades" it shall be rul- 
able to reject any package or packages varying widely in 
color or quality from the bulk of the lot. 
New York Produce Exchange Report (1888-9), p. 305. 
rule 1 (rol), . [< ME. rule, reule, remle, ruell, riulc, 
riirle (as inAncren Riicle, 'Anchoresses' Rule'), 
< OF. rcule, rieule, riule, reigle, riegle, F. dial. 
(Norm.) ruilt, F. regie = Pr. Sp. regla = Pg. 
regra = It. regola = AS. regol, regul, a rule, = 
D. regel = MLG. reggele, regule = OHG. rcgula, 
monastic rule, MHG. regele, regel, G. regel = 
Icel. regla, regula = Sw. Dan. regel, rule, < L. 
regula (ML. also regula), a rule, etc., < regere, 
keep straight, direct, govern, rule: see regent. 
See rail 1 , a bar, etc., and reule, doublets of 
n/tel.] 1. An instrument with an edge ap- 
proximately straight, subserving purposes of 
measurement. A mere straight-edge Is usually called 
a ruler. Rulesttre mostly of three kinds (1) those with 
a scale of long measure on the edge, (2) parallel rules, and 
(3) sliding rules. See ruler, and cut under caliper. 
Thes yefthe [gift, i. e. righteousness] is the maister of 
workes, thet is to zigge, of the ulrtuesof man; uorhe deth 
al to wylle, and to the line, and to the reule, and to the 
leade, and to the leuele. 
Ayenbite of Imryt (E. E. T. 8.), p. IMi. 
Mechanic slaves 
With greasy aprons, rules, and hammers, shall 
Uplift us to the view. Shale., A. and C., v. 2. 210. 
2. A formula to which conduct must be con- 
formed ; a minor law, canon, or regulation, es- 
pecially a regulation which a person imposes 
upon himself: as, the rules of whist. 
Now hath vche riche a reule to eten bi hym-selue 
In a pryue parloure for pore mennes sake, 
Or in a chamhre with a chymneye. 
Pirn Pimcman (B), x. (Hi. 
If thou well observe 
The rule of Not too much, by temperance taught, . . . 
80 mayst thou live. Milton, P. L, xi. 531. 
His Example still the Jtule shall give. 
And those it taught to Conquer, teach to Live. 
Confrere, Birth of the Muse. 
Specifically (a) In monasteries or other religious so- 
cieties, the code of laws required to be observed by the 
society and its individual members : as, the rule of St. 
Benedict, the rule of St. Basil, etc. (i>) In law : (1) A 
statement of a principle of law propounded as controlling 
or entitled to control conduct: the principle thus stated: 
as, the rule against perpetuities (see perpetuity, 3). In this 
sense some rules are statutory or constitutional that is, 
created by or embodied in statutes or a constitution ; some 
are cotnmon4aw rule*, as many of the rules of evidence ; and 
some are equitable that is, introduced by the courts of 
equity. (2) More specifically, regulations (generally, if 
not always, promulgated in writing) prescribed by a court 
or judges for the conduct of litigation, being either gen- 
eral rules, applicable to whole classes of cases (commonly 
called rules of court), or particular rules, or orders in par- 
ticular causes : as, a rule for a new trial, a rule nisi, 
etc. (c) pi. In American parliamentary law, the regu- 
lations adopted by a deliberative body for the conduct of 
its proceedings, corresponding to the standing orders of 
the British House of Commons, (d) In (/ram., an estab- 
lished form of construction in a particular class of words, 
or the expression of that form in words. Thus, It is a rule 
in English that s or es added to a noun in the singular 
number forms the plural of that noun ; but man forms 
its plural men, and so is an exception to the rule. 
O Grammar rules! O now your virtues show ! 
So children still read you with awful eyes. 
Sir P. Sidney (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 534). 
3. A form of words embodying a method for 
attaining a desired result ; also, the method it- 
self : as, the rules of art; especially, in arith., 
the description of a process for solving a prob- 
lem or performing a calculation ; also, the 
method itself. 
Led by some ;"/' that guides but not constrains. 
Pope, Epistle to Jervas. 
The representation of a general condition according to 
which something manifold can be arranged [with unifor- 
mity] is called a rule; if it must be so arranged, a law. 
Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, tr. by Miiller, p. 118. 
4. The expression of a uniformity : a general 
proposition ; especially, the statement that mi- 
der certain circumstances certain phenomena 
will present themselves : as, failure is the gen- 
eral rule, success the exception. 
rule 
Arch. Against ill chances men are ever merry ; 
But heaviness foreruns the good event. . . . 
Believe me, I am passing light in spirit. 
Mowb. So much the worse, if your own rule be true. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV'., iv. 2. 86. 
For 'tis a rule that holds forever true : 
Grant me discernment, and I grant it you. 
, Coicper, Progress of Error. 
And first it [law] is a rule: . . . something permanent, 
uniform, and universal. 
D. Webster, Speech, March 10, 1818. 
5. In tew: (a) Jail limits. Sefe rules of a prison, 
below. (6) The time and place appointed in 
a court, or in the office of its clerk, for entering 
rules or orders such as do not require to be 
granted by the court in term time. Hence the 
phrase at rules, at the session so appointed. 
6. Conformity to rule ; regularity; propriety: 
as, to be out of rule. 
[They] bowet euyn to the banke or thai bide wold ; 
Out of rule or aray raungit on lenght. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 5677. 
He cannot buckle his distemper'd cause 
Within the belt of rule. Shale., Macbeth, v. 2. 15. 
7. The possession and exertion of guiding and 
controlling power ; government ; sway ; domin- 
ion ; supreme command or authority. 
He gouernyd the contre hothe lesse and more, 
Also he hadde the Rule of euery towne, 
And namely tho that longyd to the crowne. 
Generydes(E. E. T. S.), 1. 25. 
Though usurpers sway the rule awhile. 
Yet heavens are just, and time suppresseth wrongs. 
SAa*.,3Hen. VI., 111. 3. 7fi. 
Deep harm to disobey, 
Seeing obedience is the bond of rule. 
Tennyson, Morte d'Arthur. 
8. In printiny, a thin strip of rolled brass, cut 
type-high, used for the printing of continuous 
lines. (See composing.) Rules are made In many 
forms; those in general use are shown here. 
Single rule 
Parallel " = 
Double " - 
Dotted " 
9. In plastering, a strip of wood placed on the 
face of a wall as a guide to assist in keeping 
the plane surface. 10. In musical notation, 
same as line 2 , 2 (6) (1) Antepredlcamental rule, 
one of two rules laid down by Aristotle in the introductory 
part of his treatise on the categories. See antepredica. 
ment. A rule to show cause, or a rule nisi, a rale 
which is conditional, so that, unless the party against 
whom it has been obtained shows sufficient cause to the 
contrary, it will become absolute. As a rule, as a general 
thing ; on the whole. Bevel plumb-rule, an instrument 
used by engineers in testing the slope of an embankment. 
One limb of it can be set to any angle with the other, 
which is held plumb, to determine whether the slope 
has the proper angle or not. Brass rule. See def. 8. 
Cardan's rule, a rule for the solution of cubic equations, 
first published by Jerome Cardan, to whom it had been 
confidentially communicated by the Italian mathematician 
Tartaglia (died l.v.'.n. But the first discoverer is said to 
have been Scipione dal Tesso (died about 1525). The rule 
is that the solution of the equation a: 3 + qx -f r = is 
The rule is applicable in all cases ; but if there are three 
real roots, it is not convenient, on account of iniftginaries. 
Carpenter's rule, in the common form, a two-foot 
rule, folding in four, graduated to eighths and sixteenths 
of an inch. Sometimes a pivoted index with a scale or a 
graduated slider is added to adapt the instrument for a 
greater number of uses and to aid in making certain com- 
putations. Cross-rule paper. See paper. De Oua's 
rule [named after the French mathematician Jean Paul de 
Gua de Malves, who gave it in 1741], the proposition that 
if any even number of successive terms is wanting from 
an equation there are as many imaginary roots, and if any 
odd number of terms is wanting there are one more or one 
less imaginary roots according as the two terms adjoining 
the gap have like or unlike signs. Descartes'B rule of 
signs, otherwise called Descartes'* theorem, the proposition 
that in a numerical algebraic equation the number of posi- 
tive roots cannot surpass the number of variations in the 
series of signs of the successive terms after these have 
all been brought to the same side of the equation and ar- 
ranged according to the powers of the unknown quantity ; 
and, further, that the excess of the number of variations 
over the number of positive roots cannot be an odd num- 
ber. Dotted rule. See def. 8. Double rule. See def. 
8. Figure of the golden rule, a line shaped like a Z, 
with the terms of a proposition at its ends and angles, 
thus: 
as 4 _____ is to __ 12 
so ia_ is to- -54. 
Figure of the rule of false*, a cross like an X, with 
the two false positions at its upper corners, and the errors 
of the result respectively under them, the difference of 
the errors under the middle of the cross, and the answer 
over the middle of the cross. French rule, in print 
ing, a dash, generally of brass, thus : 
Gag-rule. Same as yafj-law. 
The legislature of Massachusetts pronounced the (jag 
rule unconstitutional, and asserted that Congress had 
power to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. 
The Century, XXXVII. 876. 
